Aluminum Corp. of China has started construction of a titanium sponge project in Heilongjiang, China along with Aricom plc. The project will be constructed with a total investment of CNY 4 billion in two phases. The first phase, with an investment of CNY 2.2 billion, is scheduled to start operation in 2010 and will be capable of turning out 15,000tns a year. The second phase, once completed, will drive up the project’s annual production capacity to 30,000tns, its annual sales to roughly CNY 4 billion, and its taxes to CNY 400 million. Aricom will supply ilmenite, raw material for titanium sponge production, from its Kuranakh mine at Amur in eastern Russia, not far away from Heilongjiang.
